MLB.com beat writer Brian McTaggart blogs about all things Astros.

Martinez called up by Astros, Buck to DL

The Astros placed outfielder Travis Buck on the 15-day disabled prior to Saturday’s game against the Reds and called up outfielder Fernando Martinez from Triple-A Oklahoma City, general manager Jeff Luhnow said. Martinez was expected to be in uniform for the game.

Buck hit .216 in 33 games with the Astros and hasn’t been available to play for a couple of days because of an injury to his right heel, which had him in a protective boot on Friday.

Martinez, considered one of baseball’s top prospects from 2006-10, was claimed off waivers by the Astros in January. He was batting .319 with eight homers and 38 RBIs in 51 games with Triple-A Oklahoma City, with a .374 on-base percentage and .532 slugging percentage. Like Buck, he’s a left-handed hitter.

Martinez, 23, spent the majority of the 2011 season at Triple-A Buffalo, but did have a brief stint with the Mets. In 63 games with Buffalo, he hit .260 with eight home runs and 30 RBIs. He hit .227 in 11 games for the Mets with a home run, which came May 13 at Minute Maid Park off Astros pitcher Bud Norris.

Martinez also had brief stints with the Mets during the 2009 and 2010 seasons, appearing in a combined 36 games in that span. He has a .274 career average in six Minor League seasons after being signed by the Mets as an amateur free agent in 2005 at 16 years old.

2 Comments

Martinez should be in the lineup tonight and against all right handed pitching. In the minors this year, he has performed well against righties and subpar against lefties.
With this said, I think the lineup should look like this tonight against Latos if Carlos Lee is absent:
Schafer
Altuve
Lowrie
Martinez (LF)
Martinez (RF)
Johnson (3B)
Downs (1B)
Castro

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